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Enrolling in a class that is notorious at your university for being difficult is perhaps the best excuse to knuckle down and achieve the mythic (yet attainable) A+. Each individual class requires different levels of understanding and reasoning, but there are a few general habits that you can adopt to ensure outstanding grades.

1) Question Everything.Instead of simply accepting the given lesson material at face value, memorizing it, and then moving on, it is important to actively question what you are learning in an earnest attempt to gain a deeper understanding. For instance, you might learn in your introductory biology course that the upper portion of the ascending Loop of Henle contains a high concentration of mitochondria. Rather than performing a rote memorization of that fact (which incidentally is very susceptible to decay), asking a simple, "Why?" can go a long way. The upper or "thick" portion of the ascending Loop of Henle functions in producing dilute urine in cases where the excretion of water is more physiologically salient than its conservation. The high concentration of mitochondria aids in providing sufficient energy to power the Na-Cl-K cotransporter and reabsorb such ions back into the bloodstream, thus producing the dilute urine. By knowing the "why," it is no longer necessary to memorize the "what" - that the thick ascending loop has lots of mitochondria, because now you have made a connection to long term memories already stored in your brain. This can prove to be invaluable in high-stress situations such as midterms and finals where time is an especially limited resource.

2) Don't be afraid to ask for help.Whether it's scheduling a session with CurveSetter Tutoring™, visiting your professor's office hours, or even calling up a friend, there is nothing wrong with asking for help. Given the mountain of required course material for each class, there are bound to be nuances or complexities that are initially hard to decipher on your own. In such cases, rather than simply giving up and moving on, or resorting to the ever-famous rationalization, "I doubt we'll get tested on this" a simple email can put you on the right track. Remember, you are a student. Not knowing or understanding certain things is expected and asking questions is never beneath you.

3) Work together.Unfortunately, it took me a whole year of college to realize the cornucopia of benefits in collaborating with a peer who worked at a similar pace as myself. Once you have established a solid foundation of the material that is going to be tested on, working with peers in small groups can help facilitate deeper understanding and even fill in gaps that you may have missed during your studies. As an added plus, working in groups often doesn't even feel like studying because you're in a social setting.

4) Learn it like you're going to teach it.Imagine that instead of a final you were required to stand in front of your class of ~350 people and teach the whole semester's worth of lectures as well as your professor did. If you approach every exam like this, you will succeed.